Forever, Right?
by NaruFan21o
Summary: What would've happened between Naruto and Hinata if they were best friends? Main Pair: NaruHina
1. The Cry of Friendship

Chapter 1: The Cry of Friendship

"Get outta here!"

"Yeah, no one wants to be around you!"

"Leave, you stupid kid!"

The crowd of boys started throwing tiny rocks at the blonde-haired kid. They were fed up with the little runt always following them and trying to be friends with him. They wanted to get rid of him once and for all. They threw as many rocks as they could to make the little boy leave, and it worked! The 7-year old blonde ran away from the group, tears streaming down his cheeks and into the air. The others stood there and smiled. They were finally rid of that annoying boy.

The messy-haired blonde just kept running. Where to….. no one knew. He passed by villagers in the streets. Some of them looked at the boy in anger, some with fear, and others just didn't look at him at all. The boy just kept on running… running… running. Soon he ran into a small forest, with tall trees and a few bushes. He slowly walked towards one of the trees and leaned his back against it. He slid down to the ground and hugged his knees. He rested his head onto his knees and sobbed violently. _Why doesn't anyone want to be around me?_ he thought. _What did I ever do to anybody?_ He sat there and cried, cried until he heard something behind him.

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"Okay, I'll see you guys later!" the girl said as she walked away from her friends. She was walking home, but she wanted to make one last stop next to a tiny forest. She traveled far away from where she was supposed to go. Once she was near her destination, she grabbed a bag full of bird seeds. She pulled out a tiny handful and extended her hand out into the air, her palm face up with seeds. It wasn't long before a couple of her bird friends swooped down and started eating the seeds.

"Wow, you guys really like this stuff." She said as the birds cleaned her hand until there weren't any seeds left. The birds cooed for more. "Alright, just a little bit more," she said, "but that's it. You're gonna have to wait until tomorrow morning for your next meal from me." She poured a tiny pile of bird seeds, and the birds ate slowly. When the seeds were all gone, the birds flew around her to thank her and flew away into the forest. "See you two tomorrow!" She yelled as she waved her hand. She was just about to leave when she heard crying.

The raven-haired girl looked around to see who it was, but nobody was in sight. She followed the noise and found a blonde-haired kid sitting behind a tree. He had a river of tears on his face and a pool of water under. His clothes were wet, too. The girl didn't know what to do. She didn't know who the boy was, and she can't help out a total stranger. But the kid looked so sad. _What happened to him?_ she thought to herself. She stepped forward, but broke the silence as she cracked a twig with her foot. She was startled and hid behind the tree, the same tree that the boy was sitting next to.

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"Wh-who's there?" the little boy asked. He got up and looked around him. He didn't see anyone in sight. The girl peeked out from behind the tree and saw the boy standing up. He was the same height as her. The little boy turned his head and saw a glimpse of the girl. The girl hid back behind the tree, scared to approach the young boy. "Hello?" he asked as he was walking around the tree trunk. The girl heard his footsteps and began to walk around the tree trunk the opposite way. The boy got around to the opposite side of the tree, but he didn't see anyone. "Who's there? Th-this isn't funny." The boy stated walking backwards. The girl looked around to the other side of the tree and didn't see anyone. She was about to leave when her back ran into the boy's back. They both jumped and faced each other. The boy had his fists up, while the girl held up karate chop arms. The boy finally saw who it was… a girl. He lowered his fists to get a better view of her. The girl did the same.

"So, did you come to make fun of me?" he said defensively. The girl stared at him with confusion.

"Wh-what?" she said, "Why would I make fun of you?"

The boy became a little angrier, "Don't play dumb with me! Everyone else has made fun of me, just 'cause I have no friends. No one ever wants to be friends with me. They always tell me to leave, or they throw stuff at me, or they stare at me with those eyes… those stupid eyes" The boy began to cry a little bit, and the girl seemed shocked.

_What has this boy gone through?_ she thought.

"I know you came to make fun of me," he continued, "Everyone else has. So, c'mon, make fun of me. You wouldn't be the first person…" The boy sniffed while he was talking. The girl could see that he was on the verge of bawling again. She lowered her guard and walked over to him.

The boy seemed confused. The raven pulled out a piece of tissue and handed it to him. "Here, you look like you're about to cry…a-again." She said. The blonde looked down at the tissue, then back up at the girl.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he said, "I thought you were… gonna make fun of me."

The girl stared into his ocean blue eyes. She knew that this boy had been hurt really bad. "I don't make fun of people." She said, "I treat others the way I would want to be treated." She smiled at him. He looked at her pale lavender eyes and, for some odd reason, knew that she was telling the truth. The boy lowered his guard and took the tissue that was in her hand. He wiped his tears away and blew his nose.

The girl giggled and looked straight at him. "Hey, I…I never did ask for your name." The boy looked up at her and, for the first time that day, he smiled.

"My name is Naruto." he told her.

"Naruto, huh?" she said, "Well, hi Naruto. My name is Hinata." Hinata looked at Naruto and held her hand out, waiting for him to shake her hand. Naruto looked at her hand, and grabbed it, shaking it lightly.

"Say…how old are you?" she asked him, finally noticing his height again. Naruto was a little alarmed by the question.

"I'm 7." He responded.

"Oh, you're the same age as me!" she said, showing a surprised face. Naruto was a bit surprised, too. _No one my age is ever nice to me_ he thought.

"You're surprised…?" Hinata asked.

"Well, yeah… a little," Naruto said as he looked down, "No one my age ever really talks to me." Hinata was a bit taken aback by this. She moved a little closer to Naruto to get a better view of his height. _Yep, he's the same height as me_ she thought.

"So, Naruto… why are people being mean to you?" she said as she sat down, leaning back on the tree. Naruto sat down next to her, looking sad.

"I…I don't know." He said softly.

"Come on, you can tell me." Hinata stared at him.

"But, I really don't know." Naruto said while looking down at the ground, "Ever since I was born, no one's ever been nice to me. I've lived on my own mostly, and I've never met my parents."

Hinata stared at him for a while. _Never met his parents? That must be awful!_

"The only person that ever really cares for me was my sensei, Iruka." he continued, "He's pretty cool." Hinata grabbed an apple out of her bag and split it in half.

"You look hungry. Here, you want half?" Naruto looked at the apple and gladly took it. They both ate in silence for a while until Naruto spoke.

"You know, you're the first person that's ever been nice to me… well, besides Iruka-sensei." He grinned and slightly laughed at his own joke.

Hinata smiled again, "Well, f-friends are supposed to be nice to each other, right?" Naruto looked up at her, surprised by the words that came out of her mouth.

"Y-y-you consider m-me a-a friend?" Naruto stuttered out of his mouth.

"Sure I do." Hinata responded, "I-I know whoever is being mean to you is…missing out on a r-really cool friend."

Naruto's eyes widened and, soon, welled up with tears. Hinata was a little scared, knowing that he cried when he was sad. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't m-mean to make you cr-cry!" she stumbled out of her mouth.

Naruto smiled and wiped his eyes, "I'm not crying 'cause I'm sad…it's just… that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Hinata sat there in shock.

_He really wasn't kidding when he said no one was nice to him._ Naruto looked at her, thinking that she dozed off into space

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked her.

Hinata smiled, "Yeah I'm fine." Naruto thought of an idea and held his pinky finger out in the air. "What are you doing?" Hinata asked. Naruto grinned.

"Hey, you wanna be best friends?"

Hinata raised her eyebrow, reacting from the very strange question. "Um……okay." Hinata answered.

Naruto grinned even wider than before, "So, if you wanna be best friends, you gotta pinky promise that we'll be best friends forever." Hinata looked down at his pinky. She thought about what the promise was.

_Best friends forever…… well, he's not that bad of a person……ah, what the heck. _Hinata took her pinky and locked it with his.

"Best friends forever?" Naruto asked.

"Best friends forever." She responded. Hinata and Naruto looked at each other and smiled.


	2. 6 Years Later

Chapter 2: 6 Years Later…

The door flew open as the girl raced down the street. She knew she was late meeting her friend. She ran, ran as fast as she could. _Crap, if I don't get there in time…_ she thought. The girl turned corner after corner after corner until she saw her destination in sight. _There it is!_ She sprinted as fast as she could with the little energy she had left. After what seemed like half of a mile, she reached her destination… a small forest. The raven looked around and did not see her friend that was supposed to be there. "Yes, I beat him." she thought out loud, but before she could leap with joy, she saw a bushel of blonde hair sitting behind a rock that she was standing in front of.

"Sorry, girly. You're a minute and a half too late." Naruto replied to her outburst. Hinata sighed as she walked around the rock and got a clearer view of Naruto.

"I knew…I shouldn't have shown that demonstration….to those kids." She said exhausted as she sat down next to Naruto.

"Oh, so you taught kids today?" Naruto asked her out of curiosity.

"Well, I-I wasn't trying to…" Hinata responded, "It was the y-younger kids in Iruka-sensei's class. They wanted to see how to throw a kunai properly."

"Oh… well, those kids cost you a dinner. You are treating for Ichiraku tonight!" Naruto said, smiling in her face.

Hinata dropped her mouth. "But, it-it wasn't my fault-"

"No excuses, you lost the bet we had. I got here before you did, and the bet was that whoever lost would treat for dinner tonight. You can't take back a promise." Naruto leaned back on the rock, feeling like he won the battle.

Hinata pouted her lip and crossed her arms. "Hmph! You're just taking advantage of getting free food!" she replied to his statement.

"…Maybe." Naruto grinned at Hinata. They both laughed as they got up and headed straight for Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.

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"Hey, old man, we're back!" Naruto shouted as he pulled up the curtain to the ramen shop. Teuchi looked behind him to see his two best customers: Naruto and Hinata.

"Naruto! Hinata! My best customers are here!" He shouted. Naruto grinned and Hinata waved to Teuchi. "So, who won the bet?" He asked.

"I did!" Naruto shouted. Hinata looked at Naruto, showing signs of anger.

"Oh, so it looks like Hinata is paying tonight." Teuchi smiled as he started cooking some ramen. "So, how many bowls will you have Naruto?" Ayame asked as she came in from the back door.

"Five!" Naruto grinned again.

"Five?!" Hinata complained. She looked at the money she had left and sighed, knowing that, once again, she wouldn't have any money left by the time they left Ichiraku. "Why is it that when you pay for my ramen, you still have money, but when I pay for your ramen, I always go broke?" She said while looking at Naruto.

"I don't know." Naruto shrugged his shoulders and Hinata sighed. "Maybe you don't make enough money." Naruto bluntly said to her. A vein popped out of Hinata's head as she balled up her fist. _Or maybe you eat too much ramen, you greedy little… _As soon as she thought of that, Teuchi finally brought them both ramen. Hinata and Naruto took their chopsticks and separated them, ready to eat their dinner.

"Itadakimasu!" They both shouted, as Teuchi watched them eat.

"Say, I heard from some of my other customers that tomorrow is the day for the graduation exams at the Academy." Teuchi said to his two customers. Naruto and Hinata stopped eating and widened their eyes. They had almost forgotten about the exams. "I'll take that as a yes." Ayame answered for them, "Are you two ready for it?"

The two looked at each other, when all of a sudden Naruto smirked. "Of course I am!" Naruto said as he pointed to himself. "All that we'll probably have to do is perform a clone jutsu. No big deal."

"No big deal?" Hinata said to Naruto, "Naruto, y-you can't even make a clone of yourself out of a paper bag." Naruto grunted while Teuchi stood there and laughed.

"Thank you, Hinata. Now I'm having the time of my life being laughed at." Naruto replied sarcastically. He knew that he wasn't the best at making clones, but he tried his best.

"S-sorry." She said softly, "I-It's just that… I'm kind of worried about you and your exam." Naruto waved off the comment and started eating his ramen again.

"Don't worry about it." He said to her, "I'm gonna go home and practice, and once I get to the Academy tomorrow, I'm gonna pass that test, you just wait!" He finished his ramen and raised the bowl up, asking for more.

Hinata stared at him, hoping for him to say something else, but he didn't. _Well, I hope he's right and he passes… _Hinata thought in her head. Before she knew it, Naruto had finished his last bowl. She looked down and saw food still in her first bowl. _Well, I'm not really that hungry tonight…_ Hinata finished her last bowl and pushed it aside. "I'm finished." She said to Teuchi.

"So am I." Naruto said while patting his stomach, which looked as giant as a watermelon. Teuchi took their bowls and said his goodbyes to his customers. The two walked out into the street and said their goodbye as well as the evening was getting dark.

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Hinata walked towards the Academy, looking around to see if she saw Naruto. She walked inside and went to her normal classroom, but she didn't see Naruto. She sighed and sat down in the back.

For about a half an hour she waited for the exams to start, when Iruka walked into the room with some sheets of paper.

"Welcome everyone. Today is the final examination. If you passed today's test, you will receive a Konoha forehead protector and be recognized as ninja in this village." Iruka reviewed the papers that were in his hand.

Hinata looked around and still saw no Naruto. _Where could he be?_ As soon as she thought that, Hinata saw Naruto on the ground crawling towards an empty seat from the entrance. Hinata sighed and shook her head. Naruto reached his seat and thought he wasn't seen, but was apparently wrong when Iruka threw a kunai at his desk. Naruto jumped out of his seat and fell to the floor. The entire class stared at him, Hinata mostly trying not to because of embarrassment. "I was so close…" Naruto said softly.

"You're late, where have you been?" Iruka asked his student. Naruto looked at Iruka with his eyes squinted. "Chill sensei, I just overslept, that's all." Naruto replied to him.

"Just overslept? Do you know that today is the final exam?" Iruka walked over to his student, who was still sitting on the floor. "Maybe…" Naruto answered him. Iruka squatted down to his level to get a better look at him.

"And do you know that you've failed the exam twice already?" Iruka stated to him. Naruto felt slightly embarrassed having everyone know that he has already failed the exams. He slowly got back into his seat and grinned at Iruka. Iruka sighed and walked back towards the front of the classroom. "Next time, I won't let you off so easy." Iruka stated to Naruto.

Naruto leaned against the back of his chair. Hinata looked over at Naruto and gave him a small wave with her hand. Naruto caught it and smiled at his best friend. "Now, as I was saying," Iruka continued, "You will receive a forehead protector when I and the other judges believe that you have passed the exam. Your test today will be on your clone technique."

Hinata felt her nerves kicking in a little, but she looked over at Naruto and saw panic in his eyes. Naruto… she thought as she felt a little sympathy for him. Naruto looked over at Hinata and saw that she was staring at him. Hinata mouthed the words, 'You're not nervous, are you?' to Naruto. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to calm down, even though clone techniques were not his best. He put a smile on his face, and looked back over at Hinata. Hinata calmed down a bit also after she saw Naruto's face. Naruto mouthed back to Hinata, 'Meet me outside the doors of the academy so we can show off our headbands.' Hinata smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

"When I call your name, please make your way to the classroom next door." Iruka stated as he looked down the list of people that he had.

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Hinata waited over an hour before her name was called. Naruto had already went ahead of her because the list was backwards. She knew that she was going next, she heard them call Kiba already, and she knew her name came after Kiba's. At least half the class was gone already. She became a little bit nervous, but she knew she would do alright in this exam.

"Hinata Hyuuga." Iruka said as he opened the door, "You're up." Hinata got up from her chair and walked towards Iruka. Iruka opened the door and let her out so she could walk to the classroom next door. Hinata opened the door to find only Iruka and another chuunin, Mizuki. Iruka sat down in his seat, which was behind a table with forehead protectors placed neatly on top.

"When you're ready, Hinata, you may perform your clone technique." Iruka informed her. Hinata nodded and began her technique. She placed her hands in the right position and her chakra began to surround her. She closed her eyes and calmed down. "Bushin-no-Jutsu!" she shouted and her chakra poofed into clouds of smoke. She looked out of the corners of her eyes to the sides of her and saw she made 3 clones that looked exactly like her. Iruka smiled and wrote his comments on the evaluation paper he had in his hand. Mizuki did the same.

"Congratulations, Hinata!" Iruka said with a smile on his face, "You passed the final exam, and have been officially granted the title of being a ninja." Hinata smiled and the clones disappeared in a poof of smoke. Iruka grabbed one of the forehead protectors and handed it to her. She took the forehead protector gratefully and tied it around her neck. "In three days, the graduates will be divided into teams. Meet back here at the academy at 10 AM on that day." Mizuki informed her. Hinata responded with a simple nod and walked out of the room into the hallway. She got halfway down the hall when she started running. She wanted to show Naruto her new headband as soon as possible. She flung the doors opens and looked around for Naruto……….to find out that he wasn't there.

"Naruto?" she said out loud, trying to find him, but the blonde was nowhere to be found.


	3. The Lonely Days

Chapter 3: The Lonely Days

Hinata waited outside for a half an hour, waiting for Naruto to pop up from his hiding place. _Maybe they had to give him another test…_ Hinata thought as she looked around once again to see if she spotted Naruto at all. A lot of the kids that were in the same room with Hinata came out of the Academy with their new forehead protectors on. They chatted among themselves and were soon greeted by some of their parents. Hinata leaned against the wall of the Academy and sighed.

Iruka walked outside to stretch and enjoy some fresh air. Hinata saw Iruka and ran up towards him, wondering if he knew where Naruto was.

"Iruka-sensei." Hinata spoke softly as she approached him.  
"Oh, hello Hinata," Iruka said as he finally recognized her, "Is there something I can do for you?"  
"I'm looking for Naruto." Hinata replied, "He was supposed to meet me right here when he finished his exam, but I haven't seen him."  
"Oh." Iruka responded, "Well, I haven't seen him since he took the exam."  
Hinata looked up at him, "Did he get his headband?"  
Iruka awkwardly bit his bottom lip. "No, unfortunately." he replied.  
Hinata looked down at the ground, feeling a bit sorry for her friend. "Wh-what happened?" she asked her sensei.  
"Sorry, Hinata, I can't go into details about other students' exams." He replied to her. He squatted down to her level so he could see her eye to eye. "I'll tell you what, I'll have Mizuki go out and find him for you. You just go home and get some rest."

Hinata looked up at her sensei and put a slight smile on her face. She nodded at his suggestion.  
"Oh, Mizuki forgot to mention something to you. You must report to the top of the Hokage Mansion tomorrow to take your picture for your ninja identification." Iruka continued as he stood up properly.

"Thank you, sensei." Hinata said as she began to walk away. She looked back at Iruka, and he gave her a big smile. She turned back around and started walking home. _Naruto, please be okay..._

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"I'll be back home in a little while" Hinata said to her father as she started walking to the main door. Hiashi looked at his daughter and nodded in reply to her statement. Hinata walked out of the door and started walking towards the way the mansion was from her house. _Maybe I should go check on Naruto…._ she thought as she looked in the other direction, which was the way to Naruto's apartment. _I'll get my identification out of the way first, and then I'll go see him._

Hinata was passing by her favorite clothing store and saw two women standing outside the door. She peeked in the store to see if there was anything new in stock, when she accidentally overheard the two ladies outside.

"Did you hear? That little monster was at it again last night." One of the ladies told her friend next to her. Hinata tried not to stare at them, so she pretended to look inside for a while longer.

"One of the ninjas told me what happened," the other lady responded to her friend's question, "I can't believe that brat tried to steal the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll!"

Hinata eyes slightly widened to hear that someone actually attempted to steal the scroll. _The Forbidden Jutsu Scroll? Aren't the jutsus on that scroll dangerous? I wonder why someone would try and steal it… _

"And on top of that he tried to run away!" The woman continued her story, "I swear that demon brat is gonna try and rebel against the leaf village with that fo-" the woman was hushed by her friend.

"You know we're not supposed to talk about that!" her friend replied. With that, the two ladies walked away. Hinata slowly backed away from the doorway and started walking on the road again.

_I wonder who's this brat that they're talking about? _Hinata thought after she processed the information in her head. She finally reached the mansion and looked around to see where they were taking pictures at. She walked inside the mansion and saw a chuunin standing inside.

"Hello, are you here to take your identification picture?" the ninja asked. Hinata nodded and handed her the paper Iruka gave her yesterday. "The photo station is at the top of the building. Just take the stairs until you get to the top." She informed Hinata.

"Thank you." Hinata replied to the chuunin and made her way to the stairs.

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After taking her picture and meeting with the Hokage, Hinata was free from the mansion. She decided to travel to Naruto's house and see if he wanted to have lunch with her. She finally made it to the apartment that he was staying at and knocked on the door.

"Naruto, it's Hinata." She said to ensure Naruto who it was at the door. She waited for a while before she knocked on the door again. _Hmm… is he not home?_ Hinata thought _…. Or does he just not want to talk to me after yesterday?... _Hinata waited for him to reply, but no one answered. _Maybe he found something to do… _She sighed and slowly walked away from his door. She decided to go home and eat instead of dining out by herself.

She made it home and unlocked the door. I just hope he's okay… she thought as she entered her house.

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Hinata woke up to a bright, beautiful morning. She got out of the bed and did her daily routine of cleaning up. She put on her ninja attire and wore a slightly oversized jacket with the clan symbol on the sleeves over her solid black V-neck shirt. She seemed conscious about how she looked so she zipped up the jacket. She walked into the kitchen and met her younger sister, Hanabi. Hinata took a piece of fruit out of the basket that sat on the table and washed it off.

"Is that all you're gonna eat?" Hanabi asked. Hinata looked at her sister and nodded. "I don't think that's enough food to give you energy for your first ninja day. Father probably wouldn't approve of it either." Hinata looked down at the ground away from her sister's sight.

_If father actually cared about my ninja progress…_ she looked back at her sister and slightly smiled. "We're not really training today. We're just being teamed up in our groups; the training doesn't start until tomorrow." Hinata really didn't want to tell Hanabi the entire truth… that their father really approved of Hanabi as a ninja and heir to their clan than Hinata.

"Oh." Hanabi replied to Hinata's statement, "Well, I hope you are teamed up with people that you like." Hinata giggled at her sister's statement.

"Tell father that I left for the ninja academy…oops, I mean, my meeting with the other ninja." Hinata smiled and her sister smiled back.

"I will." She replied. With that, Hinata left for the academy.

Hinata started walking and, out of the blue, she thought about Naruto. _Naruto…_ Hinata thought so deeply about what happened the past few days that she didn't realize she was still walking. _What the hell has he been doing these past few days? First, he tells me to meet him outside after the exams, and then he doesn't show. And Mizuki never got back with me and told me if he was okay or not… oh my god, could he have disappeared?! _Hinata began to panic a little but immediately calmed down. _Calm down Hinata, you don't know that for sure. How could I have not noticed that before? He's been gone for at least 2 days… or he just hasn't talked to me in two days… either way, I don't know if he's all right or if someone took him away while he was standing outside waiting for me. I've got to talk to Iruka and see if he heard from Mizuki or Naruto at all. _

Hinata finally slowed down her walking and realized that she was right outside of the doors of the academy. _Wow, I got here and I wasn't even paying attention to where I was walking… shows you how much I go to school…_ She opened the doors and walked down the hallway towards the classroom that she formerly attended. She stood outside the door and took a deep breath in. _Okay Hinata, starting today you're a ninja… so let's make the first impression count._ She opened the door and looked around to see a lot of her former classmates. There were only a few girls, but plenty of guys there. Hinata decided to sit in the back row and wait for the meeting to start. She checked to see if she had all of her ninja gear in her weapon's pocket. _I should have done this before I left the house._ Just when she was opening the pocket, she heard a strangely familiar voice. _That sounds like…_ She looked up and examined the room to find one of her former classmates, Shikamaru, talking to a spiky haired blonde boy…


	4. 7, 8, Break

Chapter 4: 7, 8…Break!

"Naruto, you know this class is for graduates, right?" Shikamaru said to the spiky blonde. The blonde stared at Shikamaru with squinted eyes, implying that he wasn't dumb.

"Do you not see the headband on my head?" Naruto replied, pointing to the blue leaf ninja forehead protector that covered the roots of his blonde hair. "That's right! I graduated, ya better believe it!" Naruto gave his famous wide-mouthed grin.

"So, you're a ninja finally…" Shikamaru sighed, "I hope I don't have to do any missions with you, you'd probably be really troublesome…" Shikamaru walked away from Naruto's table and Naruto responded with a growl and a glare. He put his head down on the table and decided to look around the room. He turned around to the back to find a Hinata staring at him with wide eyes. He grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

Hinata softened her eyes and gave him a sweet smile. Just when Naruto was about to get up and sit next to her, two females bursted into the room. "I'm first!" they both shouted as they began arguing about who was actually first. Naruto stared at the girl with the magenta jacket and the pink hair. Hinata noticed a slight blush on his cheeks and turned around to see Sakura, one of her former classmates. Hinata sighed and turned back around to face the front of the classroom. _Naruto…I wonder about your taste in women…. _Hinata thought as she started doodling in her notebook. Sakura was the total opposite of Hinata. She was smart, rude, and loud (when she wanted to be), but, most of all, she cared for one person and one person only…

Hinata looked up again at Naruto when Sakura pushed him out of the way to greet Sasuke, the boy that was sitting next to Naruto. She was going to help Naruto when a bunch of girls crowded around the table near him. They mostly argued about who was going to sit next to Sasuke. Hinata could careless about that guy, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to break through that group to help Naruto.

Naruto ended up back on his feet, and due to anger, he squatted on the table facing Sasuke. All of the girls were yelling at him to get out of Sasuke's face and to leave him alone, except Hinata. She was worried if Naruto was going to get hurt or not. She got up out of her chair and suddenly saw the unexpectable happen. Somebody bumped into Naruto from behind and Naruto propelled forward, pushing his lips against Sasuke's lips. Everyone was shocked to see what happened, even Naruto and Sasuke! Naruto quickly unlocked his lips from Sasuke's and started spitting on the ground. Sasuke did the same as well. The girls were furious with Naruto for letting what happened happen. Hinata froze in her spot. She saw Sakura and Ino ball up their fists. "Naruto, watch out!" Hinata tried to warn him, but it was too late. Naruto turned around to meet the various punches from Sasuke's fan girls.

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Iruka came in right before any damage was done, and he broke up the fight between Naruto and the girls. Unable to move from his spot after his beat down, Naruto stayed in his previous seat, sitting in between a grossed-out Sasuke and an angry Sakura.

Hinata thought about sitting next to Naruto, but she would have to ask Sasuke or Sakura to move from their seats. If she asked Sakura, she would probably get hit by Sakura, and if she asked Sasuke… she'd still get hit by Sakura. So, she stayed in her seat, glancing over at Naruto's table every now and then.

Once everything was settled, Iruka began the meeting with the new ninja.

"Today, class, is your first day as genins." He said with happiness, "So, we won't have a very long class today. What we will do today is divide you into groups of three." Iruka looked at the roll sheet that he had in his hand. The class was nervous to find out who was in which group.

Ino sat behind Sakura, which was as close to Sasuke as possible for now. She leaned forward in her seat and whispered to Sakura, "Well, I guess somebody has to be in Sasuke's group." Sakura looked back at Ino and seemed serious. "Yeah, I guess so." She replied. _Cha! Of course it's gonna be me! No doubt about that!_ Sakura thought to herself.

Sasuke sighed to himself, the thought of being in a group angered him. _Being in a group is only gonna hold me back._

Iruka put the group list in front of him. "I'll call the groups only once. When I call each group, I will give you a room number. You are to wait for your assigned sensei in the designated room once I release you from class. Am I clear?"

The students replied in unison, "Yes, Iruka-sensei." Iruka smiled and called the first group.

Naruto wasn't paying attention to any of the names that he called. He was so anxious to hear his name that he was imagining the group that he was in. _I know that Sakura's gonna be in my group. And the other person… oh, I don't care, as long as it's not Sasuke. Probably Hinata… I wonder if you can have two girls on one team?..._

Hinata was also imagining who would be in her group. _I would really like to be with Naruto… but I have to think practically. The groups were probably divided by strengths and weaknesses. So who would benefit from my strength, and whom would I benefit from with my weakness?..._Hinata debated on who the last people would be until Iruka finally called a familiar name.

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto finally paid attention when he heard his name.

"…Sakura Haruno…" Naruto grinned at Sakura, while Sakura sighed. "I'm doomed for life." She muttered to herself.

"… and Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura's face suddenly gleamed with joy. _Sasuke's in my group! No way!_ She squealed on the inside.

Naruto sighed in disappointment. The last person he wanted to be stuck with was Sasuke. He practically hated him for getting more attention than he did with the girls and the teachers. He glared over at Sasuke menacingly. Sasuke caught his glare and looked at him the same way.

"Team 7 will meet in Room 206." Iruka stated, looking at Naruto to wait for his reply. Naruto took his glare away from Sasuke and stared at Iruka. He sighed and nodded in agreement with his statement. Iruka smiled and put his eyes back on the paper, "Next group…"

Hinata seemed sort of disappointed also when she found out Naruto was definitely not going to be in her group. _So, if I'm not going to be with Naruto, then who did the Hokage paired me up with? Or, whoever it was that paired us up…_

"Team 8:" Iruka said, "Hinata Hyuuga…" Hinata paid attention to her team.

"…Kiba Inuzuka…" Kiba smirked when he heard his name. Hinata looked at her new teammate from the back of the class.

"… and Shino Aburame." Shino made a soft sigh, but no one heard it. Hinata raised her eyebrow when she realized who was on her team. _I have a teammate who has a dog as a partner and a bug lover… How do these guys help my strengths and weaknesses?_

Hinata thought about that long and hard. She didn't listen to anything else Iruka said, all she heard in the background was the whispered bickering between Sakura and Ino and the dispute Naruto was having of him being in the same group with Sasuke. She couldn't figure it out, so she decided to think about it another time.

"Team 8 will meet in Room 207." Iruka stated. Hinata and her teammates all nodded in agreement.

Once the meeting was officially over, Hinata walked out of the room. Naruto snuck up behind her and tried to scare her, but Hinata saw his shadow on the floor along with his spiky hair. They walked together, up the stairs to the second floor.

"So, are you excited about your group?" Hinata asked Naruto.

"I guess so…" Naruto replied, putting his hands behind his head, "I'm fine being in a group with Sakura, but I don't really care for Sasuke." He stretched his arms upward and put his hands behind his head. "I was actually thinking I was gonna be teamed up with you."

Hinata smiled, "I thought so, too, but then I thought about it, and our fighting skills don't compliment each other."

"Our fighting skills?" Naruto asked, "What does fighting skills have to do with this?"

"Everything." She answered, "Having a partner means you have to work together as one. By doing so, your fighting skills must compliment your partner's fighting skills. The greater your skills compliment your partner, the greater help you'll be to each other."

Naruto sighed, "So how do my skills compliment with Sasuke's?"

"Well, Sasuke has the technique and… well, almost everything. But he's not really good at… well, now that you mention it, I don't really see your compliments at all…" Hinata responded.

Naruto grinned, "See my point? I have no reason to be on the same team with this guy."

"That doesn't make sense," Hinata thought aloud, "Well; of course Sasuke has a lot of things that you can learn from him, but… I'm not sure what he can learn from you."

Naruto squinted his eyes, "I take that offensively." Hinata laughed at his comment.

They both arrived in front of their rooms. Hinata turned to Naruto and smiled again, "Well, I guess we'll see each other when the meetings are over."

"Meet me at the mountains?" Naruto suggested.

"Sure, no problem." Hinata responded. With that, they departed from each other and went into their separate rooms.

Naruto walked into his room to see Sakura standing up, while Sasuke stood in a seat a couple of inches away from her.

"Oh, it's just you." Sakura said disappointed.

"Hi, Sakura!" Naruto smiled, and then looked over at Sasuke. "Sasuke…" he muttered. The only thing he heard from him was a "hmph" sound. "So, where's our sensei?" Naruto asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Sakura replied, "He was supposed to be here before we even got here."

"Hmm……… Maybe he got bored and went to get something to eat…" Naruto said while shrugging his shoulders.

Sakura sighed, "Well, as long as we're not kept waiting too long, then I'll be fine." She sat in a seat next to Sasuke, while Naruto leaned against a wall.

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At the same time in the next room over, Hinata walked in and saw Kiba in a seat and Shino standing up in the middle of the room.

"Well, that's three here, one missing." Kiba said as he watched Hinata walk through the door.

"H-Hello…" she said in her timid voice. She looked around and saw her teammates, but there wasn't a sensei in sight. "Where's our sensei?"

"That's the one missing…" Shino responded, "She should've been here before any of us showed up."

"My guess is that they had a late meeting for all of the senseis." Kiba suggested.

"And my guess is that you're right." A random voice responded. The trio turned toward the door to notice a very young, beautiful woman blocking the entrance. Kiba grinned at her, _Hey, she's pretty cute. What is she doing here?_

Hinata stared and blushed, _she's really pretty…_ "Um, excuse me miss…..Do you know where our sensei is?" she asked the woman.

She smiled and stared at the three, "You're looking at her."

Kiba and Hinata were shocked, while Shino straightened his sunglasses. "W-Wait a minute, how can you be our sensei?" Kiba asked, "You're not old!"

The woman chuckled at his statement, "I'll take that as a compliment. My name is Kurenai, and I'll be your sensei until you three rank up to the chuunin level." She opened the door, motioning the three to follow her. "Why don't we go outside and get some fresh air?"

The genin step out into the hallway and make their way to the stairs when they're stopped by another voice.

"So, this is Team 8," said a random man. Kurenai turned to see a man with silver hair and a slanted headband covering his left eye. She smiled, and the others turned around to see Team 7.

"Yep, this is my team," Kurenai said as she looked at the students on his team. "Your team doesn't look half bad, either."

"Thanks." He replied. Hinata smiled at Naruto, who in turn gave her a grin.

"Team 8, this is Kakashi, one of the 10 senseis that were assigned this year. If I am absent from a mission, there is a possibility that he might take over for me." Kurenai explained to her team.

"Hello there. Same for you three, Kurenai may take over for Team 7 if I am absent from duty." Kakashi explained to his team. "On special missions, you three might have to work with Team 8. Be sure to get acquainted with all of the genin."

The two teams walked down the stairs together. Kiba and Shino seemed to be talking with each other, while Sakura was following Sasuke. Hinata and Naruto walked with each other down the stairs, reminding each other to meet at the mountains. The two teams separated once they were outside. Hinata waved to the three genin, and Sakura and Naruto waved back.

"You guys have been friends for a while, haven't you?" Sakura asked Naruto

"More than a while." Naruto responded as Team 7 finally walked away from the Academy.

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Naruto and Hinata sat on the mountains, waiting for the sun to set. They were telling each other about how their first meeting went, and Naruto's seemed much more interesting than Hinata's.

"I so think that sensei of ours is a fake. I mean, who falls for the eraser-on-the-head trick anymore? Anyways, we did the same thing your team did. We introduced ourselves. All I learned out of that is that Sakura seriously hates me for no reason at all, and that Sasuke is a total weirdo." He sighed and placed his hands behind his head as he leaned backwards onto the ground.

"Oh, don't worry. Things will get better between your group." Hinata said, "All I learned from my team is that Shino has an obsession for bugs and that Kiba likes animals, especially dogs. You won't become close friends in just one day." She smiled as Naruto looked over at her.

"Then what exactly happened between you and I that we knew each other like a book in one week?" he asked her.

"Hmm…maybe we thought we were creatures from another world." Hinata replied. They both laughed. Before the pair knew it, the sky turned lovely shade of pink mixed with the orange of the setting sun.

"Looks like we'll have to visit here more often." Hinata commented.

"How about every day? After training, missions, everything, we just meet right here before the sun sets." Naruto asked her.

"You've got your self a deal." Hinata answered. They both smiled at each other as they watched the sun go down together.


End file.
